Chapter 3

Celia snapped the cap onto the pen. "Nothing. Our anniversary is next month, right? I'm counting the days. When the day comes, make sure you open the gift I got you."

She straightened Winston's tie, her eyes lowered, her gaze cold and detached.

Winston's heart instantly softened. He took her hand and smiled. "Don't worry, I remember. I think about your gift every day. I can't wait to open it."

Couldn't wait, huh?

The corner of Celia's mouth twitched.

A whiff hit her just then. She glanced at the bag in Winston's hand, startled. "Is that custard pie?"

"I knew you'd sniff it out, you little foodie."

Winston laughed, pinched her nose, and handed her the bag with the custard pie. "Go on, dig in."

Celia loved this stuff. Back when they were dating, Winston would wait in long lines to get it for her.

He would tease her, saying, "You're easy to please."

She would just smile. "I love you, so none of that matters."

Celia went quiet and accepted the bag. She took a bite. It tasted just like before, sweet but not heavy.

Winston watched her for a beat, then spoke anyway. "Cece, the gown you wanted today was already spoken for. The sales associate messed up. I'll get you another one, okay?"

Celia paused. The custard pie lost all flavor in her mouth.

So that was it. Everything was priced out of sight. He was going to give away the things she loved to placate his mistress again. She forced back the sting in her eyes as best she could.

"Sure."

She didn't want the gown anymore. She didn't want Winston, either.

…

On Monday morning, Celia had barely stepped into the office when her assistant, Elle Ledger, rushed up to her with shocking news.

Celia caught her by the arm. "What is it? Why are you so flustered?"

"It's bad, Celia..."

…

Celia stormed straight to the CEO's office, shoved the door open, and flung a file onto Winston's desk.

"You're switching out the brand ambassador I chose, Winston? Something this big, and you didn't even run it by me?"

It stung to see something she'd worked so hard on changed on a whim.

Winston set the file aside. Seeing how worked up she was, he hurried over, pulled her into his arms, and patted her back.

"Don't work yourself up. It's not good for you. This is on me. I should've told you sooner. The brand ambassador you picked has a messy personal life, so we had to make a change."

He picked up the file on the table and handed it to Celia. As she read it, the fight drained out of her.

"So who'd you pick?"

"Sophie Hart. She's with Skylark Media, and she's blowing up online. She's the same woman we ran into at the boutique yesterday. What are the odds?"

It hit Celia hard. She just looked at him, stunned.

Winston kept his voice soft. "The market research team ran the numbers. Overall, Sophie is a better fit as the brand ambassador for this product. What do you think?"

Celia felt a hard lump lodged in her throat. It ached. She couldn't believe he'd made Sophie the brand ambassador for the product she'd poured herself into.

"If I say she's not a good fit, will you pick someone else?"

Winston froze, caught between Celia and Sophie.

Celia gave a wry smile and nudged him aside. "That's that."

Her icy tone made him stiffen. They'd disagreed before, but they'd never given each other the cold shoulder. It had never turned into a standoff.

Now that one line from her set his nerves on edge.

"Cece!"

Winston went after her, but he was too late. She was already in the elevator.

He frowned, worry cutting through him. He regretted saying yes to Sophie the night before.

"Win."

Sophie slipped in behind Winston and wrapped her arms around him, shamelessly stoking the heat under his skin. It didn't sit right with him, but he still went along with it and kissed her forehead.

"Behave yourself. I told you not to come up to me in public. Head back."

It wounded Sophie's pride, but she said, "Sorry. I missed you so much that I couldn't help it. I won't do it again."

"Good."

Winston looked pleased, and the hard lines of his face eased. He gave her one more kiss and left.

Sophie held it together and stayed quiet. Otherwise, he would say she didn't know her place. She knew men liked women who could take a hint, but the knot in her chest wouldn't ease.

"Celia, just you wait," she swore under her breath.

…

Celia returned to her office and sketched designs for a jewelry set ahead of next month's design competition.

The door swung open, and in walked Winston with a delicate gift box. It was the jewelry set she'd had her eye on.

As he drew near, she pulled open a drawer and slid the sketches out of sight.

He rested his hands on her shoulders and kneaded gently, his voice soft with apology. "I was wrong, Cece. Don't be mad."

Celia frowned and batted his hands away. She didn't feel like humoring him. He could do as he pleased. She was leaving soon anyway.

"I'm not mad anymore. It's fine. Just get back to work," Celia said softly, her eyes still cold.

Winston didn't feel any sense of relief. Back then, even the smallest thing like a single rose from him would make her glow. Now her expression showed nothing but distance.

He floundered. He was just about to speak when his assistant, Daniel Ripley, rushed in to whisk him to a meeting. He had no choice but to leave.

Once he was gone, Celia called a luxury consignment service. "I need to sell a jewelry set. Donate the money to the recycling center."

The consignment agent was at a loss for words.

Celia had just hung up when her extension rang. "Celia, there's a welcome dinner at 8:00 pm for the new brand ambassador. It's at Harmony Hotel."

She paused halfway through turning a page. "Okay."

She couldn't stand Sophie, but she would still go for the sake of keeping up appearances for the marketing department.

...

Celia arrived at Harmony Hotel at 8:00 pm, dressed in an elegant white suit.

She stepped into the ballroom and spotted Sophie right away. She wore an opulent gown and was surrounded by people.

It was the very gown Celia had had her eye on the other day.

She'd long known that Winston had given away the things she loved to his mistress, and it had broken her heart again and again. Even so, seeing it up close made her heart twist so painfully that she could barely stand.

Sophie spotted Celia and shot her a bright, taunting smile, as if to say Winston spoiled her and Celia didn't deserve his love.

"This gown looked gorgeous on you, Sophie. I heard it cost seven figures!"

"Wow, that's some serious money. Who paid for it?"

The comments piled on, and everyone kept teasing her.

Sophie gave a shy little smile and deliberately looked over at Celia. "My boyfriend bought it. I told him not to, but he insisted anyway. He said I'm the only one who can really pull off this gown, and no one else could even come close."

She emphasized those last words, her gaze daring and flat-out dismissive.

"Your boyfriend must really spoil you if he can just buy a seven-figure gown like that. That almost rivals the way Mr. Lowe loves Ms. Weller!"

"Exactly!"

Voices overlapped across the room.

Celia kept her expression blank, her fists clenched at her sides. So that was how gentle and attentive Winston was with Sophie.

She pressed down the bitter feeling in her chest and moved forward in measured steps. Her presence turned razor-sharp, and her voice cut through the air. "Oh? Your boyfriend?"

A chill crept over Sophie, but she refused to give ground in front of a rival.

Aiming where it hurt, she said, "Yeah. Aside from this gown, he's always setting up little surprises for me. Last night, he even bought me custard pies. They were so sweet!"

Custard pies? Only then did Celia realize that Winston had given her what Sophie hadn't finished.

Celia felt like her heart had been ripped open and ground under someone's heel. That was exactly how Winston kept trampling on her feelings, again and again.

Sophie looked pleased with herself, a sharp gleam flickering in her eyes, as if to say Celia had it coming for putting on airs earlier.

Celia let out an icy laugh and shot Sophie a cold, sideways glance.